I have designed a new domain action. It is designed to help with
espionage, and would be very useful for spy rings. What does everyone
think?


Establish Contact Domain Action

Establish Contact
Success: 10+
Type: Domain
Base Cost: 1 GB

This action allows a regent to create a contact in a given province that
makes espionage actions a little easier. Contacts are individuals and
small groups that can provide information and support espionage by
hiding and feeding spies, etc. Such a contact can report (the regent
must ask, the DM should not be expected to report it) on the basic
conditions of the given provence, including loyalty to the ruler, who
owns what holdings (except source), and basic knowledge of military
units (approximate number and whether mounted or not), at the beginning
of a turn without requiring a domain action. Additionally, a contact
acts as a level 2 guild holding to improve the chances of an espionage
action by 2. This aspect is not cumulative with actual guild holdings,
however. Because contacts consist of "private" citizens, they will not
knowingly support assassinations. Contacts are inherently secret, and
are thus unknown to other regents in the provence, unlike holdings,
which are known. However, in the event that an espionage action fails
by 10 or more points, the contact is revealed and eliminated. Also, if
the provence is occupied by an army, communication with the contact is
cut off. It will be restored, though, at the end of the occupation.

Creating a contact is handled exactly like an espionage action, but the
success roll is a 10+ (instead of 20+). Contact, like holdings, cost
money to maintain. The maintenence cost for contacts is the same as
that of a holding, and thus added to the number of holdings when
figuring out maintenence cost.

Example: Baron Boris wishes to establish a contact in an enemy's
province(3), where the enemy has a law(2). Establishing the contact
costs 1GB and requires a roll of (10-3)+2 = 9. Once the contact is
established, Boris can find out who owns what holdings, basic knowledge
of the armies there, and how loyal the people are. When Boris decides
he wants more detailed information about his enemy, he makes a standard
espionage action, but with a bonus modifier of 2 to his success roll, as
if he had a guild(2).


Brian